I happened to be in Portland during last week’s demonstration and found myself asking what the participants hoped to accomplish.

They’re not likely to come across anyone in town who they can convince of their views, after all: 79.5% of the city’s votes went to Kamala Harris in November. That’s down from Joe Biden’s 81% in 2020, but it’s still better than Hillary Clinton’s 76% in 2016. January isn’t exactly prime tourist season in Maine; they weren’t going to run across many visitors from swing states on their short march.

Those who marched don’t have to convince the city’s administration to resist the White House, either; a city councilor spoke, in fact. The political divide at City Hall is mostly over local issues, these days, which can be contentious but don’t really have much to do with national politics. It’s all well and good for protesters to demonstrate their presence, but they did that pretty well in November. Their local elected officials in the Portland area, whether at the municipal or state level, saw those numbers and largely are going to go along with them.

Clearly, making a lot of noise was the goal. They wanted to get media attention, and the media happily obliged, giving the march time on the evening news and in the local papers.

Since those reports didn’t offer specific attendance numbers, it’s hard to tell whether the enthusiasm matched the protests in 2016, but they seem not to have in most places. Similarly, the energy and enthusiasm behind the Trump resistance does not appear to be at the same level as it was in 2016.

Instead, elected Democrats seem ready to work with him.

Gov. Janet Mills has made it clear she’s not part of the resistance, and 2nd District Congressman Jared Golden has proposed his own 10% tariff on all goods to go along with Trump’s, lending bipartisan credibility to Trump’s isolationism.

Protests even before someone has been sworn in to office, let alone had the chance to do anything, seem vague, misdirected and premature. Many of the protesters, for instance, wanted an end to the war in Gaza. A ceasefire agreement, negotiated with the assistance of the incoming Trump administration, went into effect the next day. In other words, Trump, working with Biden, has already managed to accomplish one of the demonstrators’ stated goals, and they’re protesting him anyway.

Protesting the outcome of an election really serves no purpose. Regardless of how many people are marching in Portland, Maine, the change in government was going to occur, and elected officials in both parties are going to have to decide how to deal with the new administration. Some will oppose him at every turn, but the vast majority of them are going to continue on doing their jobs as they did before. So, instead of vague, general protests in reaction to an election itself, focus on the things the new administration does.

When they propose a policy you disagree with, make your views known. This will mean writing letters, both to your elected officials and letters to the editor in your local paper. It will mean staying organized, and staying involved, attending meetings of groups that support your causes. It will mean paying attention to what the new administration is up to, and pressuring politicians to question or oppose their policies. If you want to demonstrate, demonstrate in protest of a specific policy, not the election itself.

It also means you have to pick and choose your battles. You can’t simply demand that elected officials of your party oppose everything the other party does all the time. If you insist on that approach, it means you’re an extremist who’s part of the problem, rather than being part of the solution. Instead, you need to have real, achievable goals that are specific and reasonable.

All of this is a lot of work, and it’s over the long term. It’s a lot more work than organizing a demonstration in a friendly city to help people who already agree with you feel better about an election result.

Still, it’s this kind of work that leads to change in the long term, not standing around and waving a few signs. Marches and demonstrations may be motivational to the truly committed. If they’re not followed by action, however, all they accomplish is snarling traffic.